Artemis – Rebirth 2018

Daria Theodora made this artwork, Artemis – Rebirth, in the 20th Century with what looks like a lot of thin layers of paint. It's like she’s building up an image, bit by bit, revealing a dreamy and kinda psychedelic take on the Greek goddess. The whole piece is drenched in blues and reds, giving it this unreal, otherworldly vibe. I'm really drawn to the way she’s handled the figure of Artemis. The skin tones are subtle, transparent. You can almost see through her. But it's the mark-making that gets me. There are these fluid, almost watery brushstrokes that create the folds in her dress and the textures of the surrounding animals. I'm thinking she’s letting the paint do its thing, allowing for these happy accidents. It makes me think of Paula Rego, another artist who isn’t afraid to mix mythology with something personal and raw. And like Rego, Theodora seems to understand that art is an open question, not a closed statement.